Reuben Sandwich
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Create the best classic Reuben Sandwich at home with this easy recipe that combines layers of thinly sliced corned beef, sauerkraut, creamy Thousand Island dressing and melty Swiss cheese, piled up on rye bread. It’s the perfect way to use up leftover corned beef and one of the most flavorful hot sandwich recipes ever created!
Table of contents
Around our house, making homemade corned beef is a year-round activity. As an east-coast import, my husband loves corned beef, and I love that it makes three meals! We eat corned beef with potatoes, carrots and cabbage for dinner, then the next two days, we make corned beef hash and reuben sandwiches.
Out of those three meals, the reuben sandwich is my favorite! Shh, don’t tell the others! If I had my choice, all sandwiches would be hot. I love a good hot sandwich, and the reuben is probably my favorite of them all. The flavorful corned beef paired with the crisp, tangy sauerkraut, melty cheesy and zesty Thousand Island dressing. This sandwich has it all!
After years and years of making reuben sandwiches with leftover corned beef, I’m excited to share all of my secrets today for how to make the best reuben sandwich!
Secrets to make the BEST Reuben Sandwich
- Always press out the liquid in the sauerkraut before adding it to the sandwich. This will prevent your sandwich from getting soggy! It’s easy to do with a stack of paper towels or a fine mesh strainer.
- Always heat up the corned beef before adding it to the sandwich. This will give you a sandwich that’s hot throughout. If you don’t heat the corned beef before adding it to the sandwich, it will still be cold in the middle.
- Don’t be shy with the Thousand Island dressing! One of the best reuben sandwiches I’ve ever had is at Antonelli’s Deli in east San Diego. Their secret? Lots of dressing!
Ingredients
- Rye bread – we like to use Jewish rye, but feel free to use dark rye bread, marble rye, or your favorite variety of rye bread. We’ve also made these sandwiches with sourdough bread, but if you want to make it a traditional Reuben sandwich, you’ll want to use Rye bread.
- Butter – I recommend unsalted butter, as the corned beef already adds enough salty flavor to the sandwich.
- Thousand Island dressing – you can also use Russian dressing. The two are very similar and start with a ketchup and mayonnaise base, but in traditional Russian dressing, you’ll also find horseradish and Worcestershire sauce, whereas in a classic Thousand Island dressing, you’ll find a chopped up hard boiled egg.
- Corned beef – for this recipe, you’ll need either leftover homemade corned beef, or sliced corned beef from the deli counter at the grocery store. You can slice the corned beef as thick or thin as you’d like, but I’ve found that it’s easier to pile up thinly sliced corned beef on a reuben sandwich. If slicing it at home, use the sharpest knife you have, or an electric knife to get the thinnest cuts possible.
- Sauerkraut – this thinly sliced fermented cabbage is always found on a classic Reuben sandwich. It adds a tangy flavor and crunchy texture to the sandwich.
- Swiss cheese – you’ll need thin slices of Swiss cheese to melt over the corned beef in the sandwich.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Press the sauerkraut. Add the sauerkraut to a fine mesh strainer. Use a paper towel to press down on the sauerkraut to drain out any extra liquid. If you don’t have a mesh strainer, stack up 3-4 paper towels, place the sauerkraut on top of the paper towels, then use 2-3 more paper towels to press on top of the sauerkraut to drain out any excess liquid. This will prevent the sandwich from getting soggy.
- Heat up the corned beef. Add the corned beef to a large skillet, or griddle pan. This can be the same pan that you plan to use to cook the sandwiches. Heat the skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the corned beef and cook for 30-60 seconds per side, or until it’s heated up. Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside.
- Butter the bread. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- Add the dressing. Flip the bread over and spread Thousand Island dressing on the second side of each slice of bread.
- Add the cheese, sauerkraut and corned beef. Place a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the Thousand Island dressing on each slice of bread. Add sliced corned beef and sauerkraut on top of half of the bread slices, topped with dressing and cheese. Sandwich the other half of the bread slices topped with dressing and cheese over the sauerkraut.
- Cook the sandwiches. In the same skillet that you heated up the corned beef, wipe away any corned beef bits, then heat it up on the stove over medium heat. Add the sandwiches to the skillet, or griddle, and grill for 3-4 minutes, flip with a spatula and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted. Remove from the skillet and serve immediately.
What to serve with it
This classic reuben sandwich recipe is delicious on it’s own, or served with a simple side of potato chips. You can also step up your side dish game and serve the sandwich with any of these delicious side dish recipes.
Recipe tips
- It’s easier to thinly slice corned beef when it’s cold. So if you’re using leftover corned beef for this recipe, I recommend storing it unsliced in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to use it, remove it from the refrigerator, after it’s cooled completely, and thinly slice it to make the sandwiches. Use the sharpest knife you have to get the thinest slices possible.
- I use ¼ pound corned beef on each sandwich. If you’d like to make a New York style “sky high” sandwich with a very generous portion of corned beef, you’ll want to use ½ pound per sandwich.
- You can make this recipe into a cold corned beef sandwich. Simply omit the step of heating up the corned beef and cooking the sandwiches. Since you won’t be toasting the sandwiches, you can omit the butter in this recipe.
- To make this recipe gluten free, use gluten-free bread. The other ingredients shown above are gluten free.
- You can also use pastrami, which is similar to corned beef, but coated with a black pepper crust and smoked instead of boiled, after it’s brined. This sandwich is actually called “the Rachel sandwich” and it also swaps out the sauerkraut for coleslaw.
More easy beef recipes
Keep these other beef recipes in your back pocket for anytime you’re looking for an easy meal!
And be sure not to miss my homemade corned beef and corned beef seasoning recipes, to make the best corned beef at home!
Reuben Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 cup sauerkraut, drained and patted dry
- 1 pound corned beef, sliced
- 8 slices rye bread
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ cup thousand island dressing, or Russian dressing
- 8 slices swiss cheese
Instructions
- Add the sauerkraut to a fine mesh strainer. Use a paper towel to press down on the sauerkraut to drain out any extra liquid. If you don’t have a mesh strainer, stack up 3-4 paper towels, place the sauerkraut on top of the paper towels, then use 2-3 more paper towels to press on top of the sauerkraut to drain out any excess liquid. Set it aside.
- Add the corned beef to a large skillet, or griddle pan. This can be the same pan that you plan to use to cook the sandwiches. Heat the skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the corned beef and cook for 30-60 seconds per side, or until it’s heated up. Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside.
- Spread one side of each piece of bread with butter and the other side with thousand island dressing.
- Place a piece of cheese on top of the thousand island dressing on each piece of bread.
- Add sliced corned beef and sauerkraut on top of half of the bread slices, topped with dressing and cheese. Sandwich the other half of the bread slices topped with dressing and cheese over the sauerkraut.
- In the same skillet that you heated up the corned beef, wipe away any corned beef bits, then heat it up on the stove over medium heat.
- Add the sandwiches to the skillet, or griddle, and grill for 3-4 minutes, flip with a spatula and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Notes
- It’s easier to thinly slice corned beef when it’s cold. So if you’re using leftover corned beef for this recipe, I recommend storing it unsliced in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to use it, remove it from the refrigerator, after it’s cooled completely, and thinly slice it to make the sandwiches. Use the sharpest knife you have to get the thinest slices possible.
- I use ¼ pound corned beef on each sandwich. If you’d like to make a New York style “sky high” sandwich with a very generous portion of corned beef, you’ll want to use ½ pound per sandwich.
- You can make this recipe into a cold corned beef sandwich. Simply omit the step of heating up the corned beef and cooking the sandwiches. Since you won’t be toasting the sandwiches, you can omit the butter in this recipe.
Nutrition Facts
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